Frederick man is killed along Interstate 70 Tuesday

Comment

By Record Herald staff

Waynesboro Record Herald - Waynesboro, PA

By Record Herald staff

Posted May. 1, 2013 at 10:30 AM

By Record Herald staff

Posted May. 1, 2013 at 10:30 AM

A 37-year-old Frederick man was killed and five people were injured in an accident involving two broken down vehicles and the people dealing with them Tuesday evening on Interstate 70 in Washington County, Md., just west of the Frederick County line on South Mountain.

Adam C. Gammon was killed and his 12-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son were injured in the accident at 6:43 p.m. Also taken to the hospital were Gary B. Kauffman, 56, of Hagerstown; Edward A. Sechrist, 60, of Warm Spring Road, Chambersburg; and Guruprasad P. Bandekar, 36, no address given.

What happened

According to Maryland State Police, the incident began when a tractor-trailer owned by Clouse Trucking Inc. of Carlisle and driven by Kauffman became disabled and stopped on the right shoulder. Sechrist arrived in a company-owned Dodge pickup to make repairs and also stopped on the right shoulder.

As the two were finishing repairs on the tractor-trailer, Gammon’s 2013 Chrysler 200 became disabled and stopped behind the trucks.

Through their investigation, police learned Gammon wanted to move his car around the trucks so it could coast forward. He had his daughter steer the car, while he and his son pushed it into the right lane to pass the trucks.

When the girl turned onto the interstate, the car and Gammon were hit by a 2012 Ford Taurus driven by Bandekar, who was traveling at highway speed, police said.

After the initial impact, both vehicles continued forward and hit Kauffman and Sechrist, who were standing on the shoulder.

Gammon was pronounced dead at the scene and the others were taken to Meritus Medical Center in Hagerstown for treatment.

Eastbound I-70 was completely closed for nearly four hours while the crash was investigated and the scene cleared. Traffic was detoured off at Dual Highway in Hagerstown and directed east on U.S. 40 into Frederick County.